HOBOKEN -- After more
than 20 years together and four ceremonies pledging their lifelong commitment to one
another, Dr. Peter Mark Aupperle, 53, and Stewart Mark Fishbein,
58, of Hoboken are finally able to enjoy the certainty of marriage.

Just hours after the Christie administration announced that it would not challenge
Friday's Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage to begin today in New Jersey, Mayor
Dawn Zimmer made history this afternoon by officiating the city's first same-sex marriage in front of City Hall.

Following the exchange of vows and rings, the couple
kissed as rose petals showered down on them.

"The fact that the
state is not appealing it is terrific, because we are set, we are married," Aupperle, a physician, said after the ceremony. "We don't have to worry about
things changing in a couple of months. We are very happy."

This is the fourth ceremony the couple have been through in
New Jersey, starting with a large commitment ceremony with more than 120 family
members and friends in 1999, Fishbein said.

"There was a lot of family who are no longer with us and
that meant a lot to us," Aupperle said. "It would have been
nice to do that -- like everyone else does -- with a marriage certificate. But that
wasn't possible then....Now we can finally actually get married."

They held a domestic
partnership ceremony after then-Gov. Jim McGreevey signed the Domestic Partnership Act in 2004, followed by a civil union ceremony in 2007 in Mendham.

Aupperle, 53, a psychiatrist, works for Noven
Pharmaceuticals, and previously worked for Novartis, Pfizer, and was a medical
director with MediMedia USA, a healthcare media company.

He graduated from Princeton and received his medical degree
from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Fishbein, a graduate of the Pratt Institute, is a principal
with Manhattan-based Switzer Group.

"This is an historic moment for Hoboken. I am thrilled at both
the Supreme Court's decisive decision in denying the stay and the state recognizing that
there really was no way to prevail," Zimmer said. "All doubt is erased. We don't
have to be concerned about the decision going forward in the Supreme Court. The
court decision is made and marriage equality is here to stay in the state of
New Jersey."

As of this afternoon, several couples had applied for
marriage licenses, city officials said, but did not have the exact number.

Aupperle and Fishbein were the first to apply late Friday.

Hoboken residents Paul Somerville and Allen Kratz were one
of two couples that applied for their marriage license Saturday at the city's
Health Department and will be married by a judge, said city spokesman Juan Melli.
Hoboken opened its office on Saturday for an extended hours.